Dress Code Season Part 2: Naming the Discriminations This is Part 2 of my three-part series on school dress codes. Read Part 1 here. Dress code season is upon us, and what may have been considered normal school rules 10 years ago has become increasingly problematic as dress codes are interpreted and enforced by adults who have their own views of what is okay and what is not. Dress codes that rely on subjective descriptors can be interpreted in as…

Happy Spring! …Alias Dress Code Season Ahhh… Spring is finally here! We celebrated the Vernal Equinox on March 20, and the warmer air and increased sunshine that comes with it. However, with the rising temperatures comes the “dress code season.” Perhaps you’re not familiar with the term, but I’m quite sure you are very familiar with these signs that dress code season has arrived: A girl is sent to the school office because her shorts are too short. A…

Great News! Evaluation of Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Indicates Positive Student Outcomes What Was Evaluated? Between January and April 2017, a large, urban school district participated in an evaluation of their puberty education programming using Puberty: The Wonder Years™. The school district wanted to learn if their puberty education program helped students increase knowledge, develop positive attitudes, and practice the skills needed to navigate puberty in a positive manner. Who Participated? Thirty-two classes of fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students participated in…

Last week, I had the pleasure of leading a workshop on Puberty: The Wonder Years at Eaton Regional Education Service Agency in Charlotte, MI. There, I worked with 41 teachers from 10 public school districts and one non-public school in the mid-Michigan region. The snow was high on the ground, but so were our spirits as we began digging into what teachers remembered about sex education growing up and what they hoped for their students in the future. Many of…

Sexual Harassment & #MeToo Sexual harassment has certainly been the topic on everyone’s lips over the last few weeks. Just when we expect the media furor to die down, a new incident emerges and another powerful public figure is accused. Many of the people who report sexual harassment indicate that it began during adolescence. Sadly, this is a time when many young people have not yet developed the skills they need to report it and to stand up to…

#MeToo Heartbreaking stories of sexual harassment and sexual assault… have been flooding social media. Some stories share details, but many more are simple declarations of a shared experience. The sheer volume is sobering and points to the horrifying truth: Sexual harassment and assault are everywhere. More than 50 percent of women and nearly 20 percent of men reported at least one incident of sexual harassment during one 12-month study period.[1] Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. And every…

Is Your 4th Grader Ready for Puberty: The Wonder Years? YES! As a parent, you want to prepare your children… …for whatever life may toss their way. You do this because you know that ignorance doesn’t help anyone. In fact, arming your children with knowledge and skills ahead of time is a great way to protect them from being taken advantage of, or from being in a situation where they don’t know what to do. On the other hand,…

Puberty: Not So Wonderful? Ask an adult what they remember about puberty, and they will probably get a funny look on their face. Next, they are likely to tell you a funny story about something embarrassing that happened to them. Worse yet, some adults might tell stories of being confused, frightened, or humiliated by their puberty experiences. Yes, growing from a child into an adult can be awkward at times. But, let’s face it… growing into a grownup is…

Puberty Curriculum Free Is free really free? Sure, we all like to get a deal. Nothing makes us happier than finding something we really want or need at a lower price than we thought we’d have to pay. Sometimes, the objects we get by bargain hunting work out great; other times, we wish we had paid a bit more to get something of more value. One popular Google search related to puberty curriculum is “puberty curriculum free.” I suspect…

No one likes to be told to teach a class without being given the tools to do a good job…especially when the topic is puberty education! That explains why so many teachers search for puberty lesson activities they can use. So, what can educators do to acquire the best tools to teach puberty education? Read on to learn what teachers need in a well-equipped toolkit for puberty education. Activities versus Curriculum A curriculum is a set of sequentially ordered units…

May 28 is Menstrual Hygiene Day. You might be asking yourself, “Why does something so normal and natural—something that is routinely experienced by half of the world’s population—deserve its very own special day?” Great question! Menstruation Across the Globe Across the globe, girls and women experience challenges because of their menstruation. In many countries, menstruation is a taboo topic. Many cultures do not prepare girls for the onset of this normal event; others require girls and women to isolate themselves…

“My students had lots of questions! They thanked me for being willing to teach them about what is happening to them.”

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Mike B., Lansing School District

“Puberty: The Wonder Years doesn’t just stick to puberty. The curriculum also includes lessons on topics that I think are necessary, such as bullying and social-emotional components. There’s also a lot of scripting for really good conversation and prompts for the teachers.”